Biography of Double Exposure

70s disco vocal group Double Exposure was one of the first acts signed to The Cayre Brothers' NY-based Salsoul Records. Produced by MFSB vets, guitarist /arranger/songwriter Norman Harris, bassist Ron Baker and drummer Earl Young under their Baker-Harris-Young Productions banner, the group recorded perennial dance-floor favorites, "Ten Percent," "My Love Is Free" and "Everyman." The Philadelphia quartet whose sound could be described as a mix of The Four Tops and The O'Jays, was comprised of lead singer James Williams, Joseph Harris, Leonard "Butch" Davis and Charles Whittington. Signing with B-H-Y at the height of the disco era, they recorded several hits for Salsoul Records.Just like most Salsoul acts, Double Exposure scored high and long-running hits on Billboard's Disco Charts while landing at the lower rungs of the R&B and Pop charts with the exception of "I Got The Hots For Ya." Though the group's music has outlasted some of their upper-charting contemporaries. Their first LP, Ten Percent-issued August 1976; reissued on CD with a 12"mix of "My Love Is Free," on July 22, 1996 included "Ten Percent" b/w the appealing midtempo ballad, "Pick Me," #63 R&B, #54 Pop, spring 1976, "Everyman (Has To Carry His Own Weight)" written by Bunny Sigler and Allan Felder b/w "Gonna Give My Love Away," #84 R&B, fall 1976 and "My Love Is Free" b/w "Just Can't Say Hello" -a tender ballad that received airplay, #44 R&B, #104 Pop.early 1977. Their next LP, Fourplay was released in the fall of 1978. It included a cover of First Choice's "Newsy Neighbors," "I Declare War," "Why Do You Have To Leave " and "Perfect Lover." Locker Room was the title of their third Salsoul LP issued in the summer of 1979. It boasted the group's highest R&B charting single, "I Got The Hots For Ya" b/w "Perfect Lover," #33 R&B, summer 1979., and the Bunny Sigler-produced "I Wish I Could Make Love To You" mixed by Tom Moulton. The group's 12" remixes were done by NY club DJs Walter Gibbons, Tom Moulton and Larry Levan. A six-track remix CD single included "Ten Percent" and 1993 remixes of the track by Masters At Work's Little Louie Vega. Double Exposure's music can be found on The Best of Double Exposure issued by UK label Charly in July 1999, Salsoul Classics Vol. 1 and 2, Vol. 1-Disco's Greatest Hits and Vol. 2-Super Rare Disco (BMG/Robbins Entertainment). ~ Ed Hogan